Psychiatrist in Pune , Dr Neville Misquitta (MD Psychiatry). This is a psychiatrists take on Pune occurrences. Mental health issues reflect underlying universal problems that keep some of us from a meaningful life. At Pathfinder Clinic we make the link.

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Social Networking - Psychological Effects on Teenagers

Parents worry that social networks like Facebook could have harmful psychological effects on their children. They seek consultation for social network related behaviour of their teenagers when academic grades fall due to excessive time spent on Facebook, when the teenager is subjected to cyberstalking, or when they themselves are disturbed by the online self-profile of their child. What do we know about some of these social networking behaviours that bring parents and their children to the Clinic?

Friends, self-presentation and self-esteem

A larger number of Facebook friends and an exaggerated positive self-presentation does enhance the teenager’s well-being. However this is not necessarily associated with a sense of belonging to a supportive group. A more honest self-presentation does increase happiness and is also grounded in social support provided by Facebook friends (Kim and Lee, 2010). However, adolescents having more than 300 FB friends have increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, that makes them prone to depression in later life (Morin-Major et al, 2016)

Children whose self-worth is based on public contingencies (others' approval, physical appearance, outdoing others in competition) indulge in more photo sharing. People whose self-worth is contingent on appearance have a higher intensity of online photo sharing. Those with private-based contingencies (academic competence, family love and support, being a virtuous or moral person, and God's love) spend less time online (Stefanone et al 2010).

Facebook vs face-face

Impressions formed from face-to-face interaction and from personal web pages generally correspond. So, people liked in face-to-face interaction are also liked on the basis of their Facebook pages. Whether online or offline, people who are socially expressive are liked. People who express themselves non-verbally though gestures and body language in face-to-face interaction are also expressive online. The same goes with self-disclosure - when there is more disclosure offline there is more disclosure on line (Weisbuch et al, 2009).

Facebook and WhatsApp mostly act as an extension of face-to-face interaction. However, some users do rely on Facebook and WhatsApp for interpersonal communication more than face-to-face interaction (Kujath 2010).

Predictors of excessive use

Extroverted and unconscientious individuals spend more time on social networking sites and their usage tends to be addictive (Wilson K et al, 2010).

Shy people also like Facebook and spend more time on it. However, they have few Facebook "Friends” (Orr et al, 2009).

Narcissistic personalities also have high levels of online social activity. They are recognised online by the quantity of their social interactions, their main photo self-promotion, and attractiveness of their main photo (Buffardi LE 2008, Mehdizadeh 2010).

Needs satisfied by Facebook

The four primary needs for participating in groups within Facebook are socialising, entertainment, self-status seeking, and information (Park et al 2009). The majority of students use friend-networking sites for just that - making new friends and locating and keeping in touch with old ones (Raacke and Bonds-Raacke 2008).

Negative outcomes

Broad claims of unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment, associated with social networking sites may be unjustified. The risk of victimisation for a teenage is more likely through instant messaging (IM) and chat (Ybarra and Mitchell 2008).

Weisbuch M, Ivcevic Z, Ambady N. On Being Liked on the Web and in the "Real World": Consistency in First Impressions across Personal Webpages and Spontaneous Behavior. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2009 May;45(3):573-576. PubMed

4 comments:

Interesting development indeed. I am curious how this affects the identity forming of a teenager. "Although most teenagers use social networking as an extension, some do rely on Facebook and MySpace for interpersonal communication more than face-to-face interaction". I am wondering what factors make that difference in using social networking and how these children perform in face to face interaction with peers.I do think there is a limit to the number of friends on facebook and enhancing self-esteem. Thank you for sharing and i will look into the research posted!

Hi NevileThis is the first brief review on the topic that personally occupying me because of my son (16 yrs). Yes, most of the mentioned observations are affirmative ones, and are in favor of not to be concerned too much for using Facebook ad similar social etworks. Yet, looking from the parental view, it does withdraw considerable amount of time not only directly related to online setting but also around that (withdrawing attention from home work and lack of concentration for school duties which can result in school failure). The form of addiction is noticeable as without that becomes nervous and search for alternative ways to reach it. Anyhow, parental guidance is necessary, but I really question how effective could be?

Thanks again Eveline. At the Clinic, teenagers with more online than offline interpersonal interaction are the ones who considered addicted by their parents. The specific factors are what some of these studies have tried to address.

Your question as to how these children might perform in face-to-face interactions was addressed in a study that showed social network users are generally extending their offline personalities online (Gosling et al, 2011 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21254929).

As you can see the research on this subject is so hot the answers are almost coming out before the questions!

Milen, there's no taking away from the fact that social networking takes up a considerable amount of a teenagers time and has an impact on academic grades. When addictive usage result in falling grades despite attempts at guiding or disciplining the child, I think that should be the time parents seek assessment and treatment from a psychiatrist or other mental health professional.